Connecticut western news., 1887-02-16
A WONDERFUL LAKE.
Situated on the Summit of
 the Rocky Mountains.
A Beautiful Sheet of Water with Some Unique Surroundings.

One of the wonders of our great coun- try is Henry's lake, on the summit of the Rocky mountains, near the line between Idaho and Montana, on the Targee's Pass trail. It is destined to be popular summer resort, and the soil and climate are not unfavorable to the prospect of permanent settlement. The lake is five miles wide and ten miles long. It is the source of the north fork of Snake river. Like @ basin overfowing tbe clear water nipples over bar that forms the bim-a bar of crumbled chrystalline quartz-in a gurgling stream that flows peacefully through waving grass for half a mile, and then p.unges into a canon where it is lashed into foam and leaps over precipices on its way down from that continental divide as it grows to be a great river. After journey of 100 miles over rocky heights and through mountain defiles we reached the lake. Men and horses were tired and hungry. The mild beauty of the smooth water, level meadows and shaded parks all smiling with the evening sunlight was happy relief. The blue grass was varie- gated with wild flowers, birds were sing ing in the trees, swans were swimming on the lake. Before us was the winter range of the antelope, the deer and elk. A party of trappers who'spent one win' ter there say the elk came down like herds of cattle and destroyed their hay. They were compelled to drive great droves of elk away to save any grass or other feed for their packhorses.
 One of the wonders of Henry's Lake is the floating island. When we camped at night lovely island was within stones throw of us. We decided to ex- plore it in the morning. The soft green carpet, the dropping willows and stiff little pines, so near the shining surface of the cool blue water, filled us with a desire to rest in their shade. When morning came the island was gone. Five miles away we could see the little trees waving in the wind that had waft- ed them to the opposite side of the lake. The wind changed, how ever, and the mysterious island came on its daily orbit and rested, while all nature was hushed, that lovely afternoon, near where we had first seen it. We padded raft of logs to its border. It was circular in shape and 300 feet in diameter. The outer edge was tough sward, and so thin that it gave down under the weight of a man and let him into the water boot-top deep. A few feet from the edge it would support the weight of a horse. The floating mass we found to be a mat of grass roots overspread with thin layer of decayed vegetable matter. The small trees had taken root in that blanket of mold. They rocked and swayed from side to side as we walked around them.
 Another curiosity near the lake is what is called Moose Springs. From the mouth of cave in the side of a bluff bursts forth river of considerable size. The sparkling water after seething and roaring under the weight of great pres sure or other hidden forces, spreads out over a rocky bed of glistening quartz 40 feet wide, and leaps from ledge to ledge, down the precipitous nights. Thousands of moun- tain trout are continually trying to stem that tumbling torrent. They eau be seen flouncing in the air from morning till night in their effort to gain the un- derground river, after following the tu multuous Snake to the summit of the great watershed of the continent. In = dians catch and pack away from that place tons of trout every year. When we visited the fishing ground a hungry nomadic tribe of dusky natives, after weary days of travel, were arranging camp and looking happy over the pros- pect of sumptuous meal. They were to feast on fish that were yet uncaught
 After lighting the log fires the fish, ermen repaired to the foot of the steep incline by the rushing outlet of the sub- terranean river. Each man cut slender rod and shaped the end of it to fit loose- ly the hollow end of buckhorn spear tip. A strong cord attached the lip to the rod or shaft to the spear. A muscu- lar brave would step forward, a brawny bare arm would raise the simple imple- ment above his head, where it would balance for a second, and then like an arrow it Would be hurled into the water with sure aim; trout would flash hls speckled sides in the sun, the blood would flow in a red cloud down the stream, and a fine fish would be landed on the green sward. The buckhorn tip would pass through the body and slip from the haft as it was pulled back. The cord fastep- ing the tip to the rod would hold the fish, let him founder as he would. After catching about ten pounds for each mem- Der of the company they proceeded to cook the evening meal in manner as simple as it was strange. Large quanti- ties of soft clay were dug from the bank and kneaded to the consistency of dough, and each fish was separately incased in a coating about an inch thick and thrown into the fire to bake. They were cooked without dressing. Some of them were